For those touring Sonoma, consider El Dorado Kitchen for dinner

With all the great dining in downtown Napa we don’t often send people over to Sonoma to dine. Yet I know there are plenty of guests who spend the day in Sonoma as part of their stay in Napa, and I would highly recommend a restaurant for some great food. Sonoma is a small, quaint town with a notable restaurant we were able to enjoy this past week: El Dorado Kitchen. It is a short 20-minute drive from The Inn On First, where you enjoy the best in romantic lodging in Napa.

With contemporary decor and an open kitchen it makes for an intimate dining experience. We shared the meal with our friends, Don and Kathy, so we enjoyed quite a few delicious bites.

The chef sent out an appetizer: small cups of Butternut Squash Soup with housemade marshmallows and pepitas. What a great start! I couldn’t pass up the Lobster Bisque with chunks of lobster floating in the broth, and also shared the Beef Carpaccio, thin slices of raw beef with a lemon aioli and fingerling potato chips and, for this night only, shavings of black truffles on top. Both were delightful beginnings to the meal. Jamie ordered the Mussels with Chorizo which he enjoyed while Kathy and Don shared the Dungeness Crab Cake (yes I got a bite and the fresh grapefruit citrus just made it perfect).

I ordered the special of Roast Duck with Rancho Gordo Beans and Squash and it was perfectly cooked, with crispy skin on the breast. The Lobster Risotto with Celery Root was delicious, as was the taste of the Fettuccine Carbonara with Bacon Lardons and Brussels Sprouts (yes, my bite excluded the Sprouts as you know how I feel about those!); and the Balsamic Reduction sauce on the Pan Roasted Scallops was incredible. We paired everything with Copain Pinot Noir and it worked really well. I love this wine!

Because it was my birthday celebration we ordered dessert, and my favorite bite by far was the Baked Chocolate Mousse; although the Sticky Toffee Pudding and the Baked Apple Tart were both really good, too.